Doubled Verbs

Now we come to the last category of Form I verbs. These are verbs whose second and last radical are the same consonant. In such situations the stem vowel disappears in the third person singular and the two radicals are written as one with a shadda above as in the verb شَكَّ (to doubt). In the past tense these verbs are very easy to handle. Whenever the suffix begins with a vowel, the second and third radicals remain together with a shadda written above. Only the pronouns هما , هي , هو and هم give us suffixes beginning with a vowel.

In the remaining past-tense conjugations for Form I doubled verbs, the last two radicals are separated by the stem vowel. For example, the conjugation for أنا begins with a consonant, the letter ت. If we attach the suffix to شَكَّ we would have the theoretical conjugations of شَكّتُ which would give us three consonants in a row – the two ك `s followed by a sukuun and then by the ت . As you know, Arabic does not allow for such a situation. (Note also “three consonants in a row” means that there will be two sukuuns in a row as well. The first sukuun would be on the first ك, the second sukuun would be on the second ك. The first sukuun is dropped and is replaced by the imperfect stem vowel.) Therefore the final radical is separated from the middle radical by the heretofore missing stem vowel (in this case, and in most cases, a fatha), and a sukuun is placed over the third radical just as it would be for any sound Form I verb. Therefore, the conjugation is شَكَكْتُ and looks perfectly normal. Below are the conjugations for the verb شَكَّ in the past tense.

Plural

Dual

Singular

شَكَكْنا

نَحْنَ

شَكَكْتما

أنتُما

شَكَكْتُ

أنا

شَكَكْتم

أنتُم

شَكّا

هما (m)

شَكَكْتَ

أنتَ

شَكَكْتُنَّ

أنتُنَّ

شَكَّتا

هما (f)

شَكَكْتِ

أنتِ

شَكَّوا

هم

شَكَّ

هو

شَكَكْنَ

هنَّ

شَكَّتْ

هي

Note that for this verb the stem vowel in the past tense is a fatha. Such will be the case for the majority of these verbs. However, occasionally a verb will have a kasra as a stem vowel, for example, وَدّ. Therefore its conjugation for أنا is وَدِدْتُ.

In the present tense doubled verbs are easily conjugated. Usually the stem vowel is a dhamma in the imperfect. Just as for the past tense, if the suffix in the present begins with a consonant, the second and third radicals are separated, the stem vowel is written between them, and a sukuun is placed over the last radical. For example, the conjugation for هن is يَشكُكْنَ

Now when the imperfect suffix begins with a vowel, as it does in every case but two, a funny thing happens. While the second and third radicals remain together with a shadda above, the stem vowel appears immediately after the first radical. That is, it moves over one position to the right. For example, the conjugation for هو is يَشُكُّ. The dhamma of the imperfect stem radical appears between the first and second radicals. Below are the present tense conjugations for the verb يَشُكُّ , شَكَّ.

Plural

Dual

Singular

نَشُكُّ

نَحْنَ

تَشُكّانِ

أنتُما

أَشُكُّ

أنا

تَشُكّونَ

أنتُم

يَشُكّانِ

هما (m)

تَشُكُّ

أنتَ

تَشْكُكْنَ

أنتُنَّ

تَشُكّانِ

هما (f)

تَشُكّينَ

أنتِ

يَشُكّونَ

هم

يَشُكُّ

هو

يَشْكُكْنَ

هنَّ

تَشُكُّ

هي

Jussive of Doubled Verbs

Below is a chart with the verb يَشُكُّ , شَكَّ conjugated in the jussive. Please note that there are two jussive conjugations for the pronouns I sometimes refer to as “the big five” هي , هو , أنتَ انا , and نحن.

Below the chart is an explanation of these conjugations.

Plural

Dual

Singular

نَشْكُكْ \ نَشُكُّ

نَحْنَ

تَشُكّا

أنتُما

أَشْكُكْ \ أَشُكُّ

أنا

تَشُكّوا

أنتُم

يَشُكّا

هما (m)

تَشْكُكْ\ تَشُكُّ

أنتَ

تَشْكُكْنَ

أنتُنَّ

تَشُكّا

هما (f)

تَشُكّي

أنتِ

يَشُكّوا

هم

يَشْكُكْ \ يَشُكُّ

هو

يَشْكُكْنَ

هنَّ

تَشْكُكْ \ تَشُكُّ

هي

Take a look at the conjugations for the big five. You should be able to see, after all the explanations you have read by now, what is going on here. The first conjugation listed in the chart for each of these five pronouns requires a sukuun, so the second and third radicals are separated. (Just as they are separated for the feminine plural conjugations in the present tense and the jussive since these conjugations begin with a consonant which is preceded by a sukuun.) However, in Modern Standard Arabic, the true jussive conjugations for these five pronouns are rarely used. Instead, the doubled radical is kept together, as it is for the present tense in these conjugations, and a fatha replaces the dhamma these conjugations take in the present. Thus, the second conjugation you see for each of these five pronouns is what you will normally see and is what I would like you to use. However, the true jussive conjugations do appear sometimes and they are, of course, correct. So, to say “I did not doubt” please use لم أَشُكَّ .

You will learn in the next chapter that the fathas used above for the “big five” pronouns are also the identifying feature of the subjunctive for virtually all verbs. So the conjugations normally used in the jussive of doubled verbs for the “big five” pronouns happen to be indentical to their subjunctive conjugations.

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I think your definitions of a “vowel” and a “consonant” are switched. “H” is not a vowel. In the last lesson, too, you claimed that “anti” started with a consonant. It is the opposite. May be super confusing for native english speakers.

Thanks for the comment. Which lesson are you referring to where we said that “anti” started with a consonant. I want to make sure that everything is clear and appreciated when someone brings up confusing parts. Thanks!